Boating Knowledge Base
Have a sailing question? Access NauticEd’s sailing and boating knowledge base, and gain in-depth answers to your sailing questions. If you’re interested in powerboating, visit our new powerboating blog.
Momentum on a Sailboat
While sailboats are primarily powered by wind, the use of an engine (technically your sailboat engine is “auxiliary power”) is crucial for certain maneuvers and situations. All of this begins with understanding the momentum of a sailboat!
Basic Surface Geometry
Below is a brief summary of how locations are commonly expressed on different surfaces.
Raising the Alarm in Emergencies
A comprehensive list of how and the equipment used to raise the alarm in sailing emergencies
Wind
Winds can be gentle, hardly felt, like zephyrs flitting about in a local area, or they can be vast movements of air moving swiftly across oceans and continents at low and high altitudes.
Reefing the Sails
Before heading out, check forecasted wind conditions to see if you might need to reef at some point during the day. If so, make appropriate reefing preparations in the calm marina and ensure your crew knows the procedure.
Generators on a Charter Boat
Some charter boats have generators. These are small diesel engines that convert fossil fuel to DC electricity that is stored in the battery banks and AC electricity that is used to run the air conditioning, microwave, and AC outlet plugs around the boat.
Anchoring with multiple anchors
Setting multiple anchors has multiple advantages. It reduces swing, reduces the holding load required by each anchor, and can act as a backup.
Understanding Energy and Power
Energy: The concept of energy is likened to water for the easiest understanding. A bucket of water holds a specific amount of water which is measured in a quantity of gallons or liters. It is finite; when it is all drained out, it is gone. To gain more, it must be replaced from a source.
The Engine – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
While this is a sailing boat propelled by the wind and mostly without the need for burning fossil fuels the most devastating breakdown besides hull failure is the engine.
Risk of Collision when Sailing
The Rule of Risk of Collision is that every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances...
Ferrying Docking Technique
Ferrying is a docking technique whereby you can maneuver your boat in high wind and current easily.
Sailboat Solar Power
Solar panels produce DC power and are used to charge the batteries. A relatively small solar panel such as 1 square foot (0.1 m2) can produce about 1½ amps at...
Sailboat Maneuvering Topics
With practice, wind direction and current direction are not too much of a problem. But what can get you into trouble is extremely high winds. Be prepared to change...
Sail TellTales
"Telltales" attached to the sail in strategic positions to "tell" us what the wind is doing at that exact location.
Navigation Units
Sailors are forever measuring stuff. This brings us to the subject of navigation units. As we all remember from the good ol’ school days, measurement is the process of comparing something with an established standard.
DC Electrical System on a Charter Boat
Batteries power the 12 Volt DC “house” electrical system. There may be one or several batteries linked together to supply power...
Sailboat Fire Extinguishers and Requirements
Fire Extinguishers Fire Extinguishers are given a letter rating that matches the type of fire they will be battling.
Mooring on a Charter
Most developed chartering locations throughout the world have established zones in which mooring balls have been permanently implanted.
Operating the Engine – Getting Familiar with a Charter Boat
Many modern sailboats are equipped with integrated engine throttle and transmission shift systems; called the push-pull cabling system.
Some Navigation Rules Terminology
Understanding Navigation Rules begins with learning some basic Navigation Rules terminology...
Anchoring with Propwalk on a Sailboat
Without proper knowledge of how the boat reacts to the wind and propwalk, anchoring can be a real challenge.
Motor Sailing
If the wind is light and your time is short you might want to consider motor-sailing—using your auxiliary engine...
Fairlead Control
The fairlead is the first control device that the jib sheet passes through on its way back to the cockpit. You can move the fair lead forward or backward.
Sailboat Design
Surely, the first sailboat was invented by a five-year-old child with a block of wood. He or she stuck a twig through a piece of animal skin and then down into a knothole in the wood.
